Preview Round 2, 2019: Essendon v St.Kilda - Marvel Stadium, Saturday 30th March, 4:35PM AEDT

[mightymalaka]

The coaches aren't benching him by choice- you think we've got the luxury of wasting some of our 80 rotations continually sitting him down for strategic reasons?!

He's still playing the same amount of TOG he was as an 18 year old.
That is basically unheard of.

I've got nothing against dunstan's performance when he's on the ground- he's no superstar, but serviceable.

As you point out- he posts great numbers given he only plays 3/4's of a game.
But that's the problem.

It's going to look embarrassing when hunter clark rockets past him in TOG this year.
(18 yo Clark and 23 yo dunstan posted practically the same tog last year).

Understand what your saying, but my issue always has been what you said at the very start there!
' The coaches aren't benching him by choice ' My understanding and belief is that for the last 2 to 3 years the main
Coach may well have done that! No secret they had a falling out and this has contributed heavily on his TOG!

I'm hopeful that they are on the same page now but it's still not really reflected in Luke's game time, and i don't believe
It has anything to do with a so called lack of tank or endurance! In my view he is the type of heart and soul player in the guts that
All good teams need and is one of our few genuine leaders, these traits have been compromised by the lack of faith by Richo so therefore
The player has at different stages struggled with his confidence and belonging within the team! This kind of player should not be backed in such
A half hearted way, it should be All or Nothing then! Kinda sums up the way Richo has handled the squad imo, and is a big part of why
He himself is under so much pressure! A real lack of commitment to a blueprint for what we stand for as a team and with game plan!

Given his head i have no doubt Dunstan's game can go to another level in terms of his impact for us as a team!

 

[HirdsTheWord]

BOY OH BOY WOW WEE
That is shocking for Bomber supporters

But i find it P1SS funny

apparently telstra said some data wasn't recorded.

hope so because absolutely deplorable if its accurate.

 

[SufferingS8INT]

I agree, but the problem is Ross (at least imo) rarely uses his pace. On the inside he always just jams it on the boot and on the outside he tends to come to a complete standstill before releasing the ball. Rarely will he run and carry or break lines like he did in the 3rd quarter. If he did that more he wouldn't be lumped in the same category as the other 2.
Some of his defensive efforts should be highlighted internally though. He looked completely uninterested in chasing or creating a contest.

+1

 

[Joffaboy]

apparently telstra said some data wasn't recorded.

hope so because absolutely deplorable if its accurate.

Dons would have had 40 goals scored against them with those stats.

I think GWS was around 240, Essendon would have been less, but by only a couple of k's.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Amazing how people are expecting a response from the Dons next Saturday after they've had the blowtorch applied all week.

GCS had it applied all summer and apparently made no effort at all last Sunday.

 

[Snailspace13]

Richo in his presser didn’t sound all that willing to say Brown would come straight back in, he said he’d be close but hesitated big time on saying he’s a walk up for this week.

I’d say if we make a change it’s probably going to be one or two of Marshall, Clark and Acres that come in.

Richo absolutely said he’d take a look at the ruck so don’t be surprised if we play two or at least give Marshall the nod over Pierce.

Pierce was ordinary on Saturday.
Marshall more flexible and more talented around the ground and should play R2.

 

[Tommy Wigs]

I haven't seen anything to suggest Kent was any good in any preseason game so far and Young has, I think Kents profile is getting him games not form. They probably picked the best from Parker and Young but if Kent isn't performing why not replace him. To me he was nearly our worst player, even worse than Pierce.

I think he’s an upside pick. Most likely hugger ceiling and more capability of winnin ball and chipping in the midfield. Interrupted pre season. But he’d want to get moving in the next week or so. Great to see Robbie have some real influence.

 

[VDS66]

Understand what your saying, but my issue always has been what you said at the very start there!
' The coaches aren't benching him by choice ' My understanding and belief is that for the last 2 to 3 years the main
Coach may well have done that! No secret they had a falling out and this has contributed heavily on his TOG!

I'm hopeful that they are on the same page now but it's still not really reflected in Luke's game time, and i don't believe
It has anything to do with a so called lack of tank or endurance! In my view he is the type of heart and soul player in the guts that
All good teams need and is one of our few genuine leaders, these traits have been compromised by the lack of faith by Richo so therefore
The player has at different stages struggled with his confidence and belonging within the team! This kind of player should not be backed in such
A half hearted way, it should be All or Nothing then! Kinda sums up the way Richo has handled the squad imo, and is a big part of why
He himself is under so much pressure! A real lack of commitment to a blueprint for what we stand for as a team and with game plan!

Given his head i have no doubt Dunstan's game can go to another level in terms of his impact for us as a team!

Apart from Paddy, Luke has been given a dream run with selection.

He has missed mainly due to injury.

How about we hold players accountable instead of blaming the coach?

 

[tim_saints]

Ross is the opposite to Stuv, JS hits full pace off one step, Seb seems to take about four loping steps to hit full speed. His runs out of the middle on Sunday were hitting the ball already moving and once he's sailing along not many could keep up.

Stuv has acceleration, his first 30m are as quick as anyone

Seb has top end speed and not as much acceleration.

 

[Tommy Wigs]

Pierce was ordinary on Saturday.
Marshall more flexible and more talented around the ground and should play R2.

He sounded very polite on Pierce. Not often that you can see through his comments, often very straight bat. I thought he sounded fairly clear that Brown would come in, even though he was definitely skirting around it. He loves Wilkie. That’s a few times he’s commented

 

[NarklesHelmet]

Amazing how people are expecting a response from the Dons next Saturday after they've had the blowtorch applied all week.

GCS had it applied all summer and apparently made no effort at all last Sunday.

It’s as predictable as death and taxes that the Melbourne media go hard at who they thought underperformed... and this usually elicits a response.

The whole bloated AFL footy media machine relies on this bi-polar reporting and reaction loop to keep people in their jobs.

Think back to last year when our opponents this week Essendon lost to Carlton. They got hammered and came out a different team thereafter. There are countless other examples.

Gold Coast being out of the Melbourne (or footy state) fishbowls mean they are immune from this pretty much.

 

[Sainter_487]

Here's my preferred team for this week:

Geary Brown DMac
Wilkie Joyce Webster
Sinclair Steele Billings
Parker Bruce Gresham
Long Marshall Membrey

Pierce Steven Ross

Lonie Newnes Clark Acres

Emergency: Dunstan Battle

Essendon's strength is their speed out of the back line (countered by Parker and Long) and their small forwards (Webster, Geary and DMac). Pierce and Marshall to double team Bellchambers, allowing Bruce and Membrey to stretch their defence. Midfield rotations to include Steven / Steele / Ross / Clark / Gresham / Acres, with Sinclair and Billings to continue delivery into 50. Keep Wilkie in due to DE and intercept marking, but really could be him or Battle. Brown needed to be the general down back. Newnes for versatility.

 

[tim_saints]

He sounded very polite on Pierce. Not often that you can see through his comments, often very straight bat. I thought he sounded fairly clear that Brown would come in, even though he was definitely skirting around it. He loves Wilkie. That’s a few times he’s commented

I’ve never sat there and watched such a one sided ruck affair in my life haha. When we started losing the ball in the middle early on I started focusing on Pierce because I was like “wtf is going on here” after about 5-10 minutes it became clear where the problem was.

I thought Bruce competed really well vs Witts... just run and jump into him make him work for the tap, Pierce was just getting rag dolled.

 

[gringo2011]

Pierce was ordinary on Saturday.
Marshall more flexible and more talented around the ground and should play R2.

It's tricky because Marshall is very slight for a full time ruck. Pierce was pretty average though and there is the feeling anything would be better but there was always a risk that selling off Hickey would leave us short a ruck. We might have to play Marshall against sides with smaller rucks and Pierce against the big guys. Hopefully Longer gets back soon.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Going to be really interesting to see how we change things up from that game with Brown coming back in.

Some key stats:

Joyce- 18 disposals (@67%, 9 contested), team-high and equal game-high 12 intercepts, 1 intercept mark, 3 marks, 6 frees against

Battle- 18 disposals (@89%), 7 intercepts, 3 intercept marks, 6 marks

Wilkie- 11 disposals (@100%), 8 intercepts, 4 intercept marks

Any of those 3 would be pretty stiff to get dropped, so you could make a very decent case for moving Battle forward and leaving the other two back there with Brown.

Probably won't happen tho, so a tough call on one of the other two likely.

Also worth noting that D-Mac had our 2nd-most intercept possessions, with 10 (next best Wilkie and Geary with 8), that he went st 93% DE for his 14 disposals (was probably the best and most confident I've seen him kick it), that he had our equal-third most tackles, with 5 and was our 3rd highest ranked on the ground according to Champion Data (SC).

 

[tim_saints]

Going to be really interesting to see how we change things up from that game with Brown coming back in.

Some key stats:

Joyce- 18 disposals (@67%, 9 contested), team-high and equal game-high 12 intercepts, 1 intercept mark, 3 marks, 6 frees against

Battle- 18 disposals (@89%), 7 intercepts, 3 intercept marks, 6 marks

Wilkie- 11 disposals (@100%), 8 intercepts, 4 intercept marks

Any of those 3 would be pretty stiff to get dropped, so you could make a very decent case for moving Battle forward and leaving the other two back there with Brown.

Probably won't happen tho, so a tough call on one of the other two likely.

Also worth noting that D-Mac had our 2nd-most intercept possessions, with 10 (next best Wilkie and Geary with 8), that he went st 93% DE for his 14 disposals (was probably the best and most confident I've seen him kick it), that he had our equal-third most tackles, with 5 and was our 3rd highest ranked on the ground according to Champion Data (SC).

It’s hard because I think Joyce, Battle and Wilkie are all better accumulators and users of the ball than Browny but of the 4 Browny is definitely the best 1 on 1 defender.

They may give those 3 another week because the Dons don’t really have too much in the way of Key forwards at the moment outside of McKernan... so really you’d be making a change for Brown to come in and play on McKernan.

 

[bird_man]

Mackenzie got votes in The Age Player of the Year

That's madness

 

[bird_man]

It’s hard because I think Joyce, Battle and Wilkie are all better accumulators and users of the ball than Browny but of the 4 Browny is definitely the best 1 on 1 defender.

They may give those 3 another week because the Dons don’t really have too much in the way of Key forwards at the moment outside of McKernan... so really you’d be making a change for Brown to come in and play on McKernan.

Yep. I feel that having Brown there would only free up those guys to pick off the footy coming in too.

Really like the look of Joyce, but he scares me a bit in the one on one duels close to goal. I'd like to see him at centre half back.

 

[Snailspace13]

That's madness

Ha,ha.
FoxSport also him as one of our better contributors

 

[tim_saints]

Yep. I feel that having Brown there would only free up those guys to pick off the footy coming in too.

Really like the look of Joyce, but he scares me a bit in the one on one duels close to goal. I'd like to see him at centre half back.

Yeah can’t disagree with that! I actually quite liked Battle across half back too, this is the problem we have, 3 guys in a similar role and then Brown being the key stopper.

Tough one, I’ll be interested to see what they do, I’d suggest throw battle forward but doing a whole pre-season down back to then be thrown forward may be a little risky.

 

[Max the great]

Ross yes.

But what stats show that Dunstan is a much better contested player than Steele?

Steele was slightly ahead of Dunstan in terms of contested touches last year and that's despite him playing out of position for the first half. I think he proved in the second half of the year he's a very good inside bull.

No way on this earth is Dunstan a better contested player than Steele. Even if you can find me a stat to back that up I still say that's ridiculous. IMO the best measurement of a Footballer is the eye test. I went to the game yesterday and watched the replay... on TV it didn't stand out much but Dunstans lack of effort and his lack of Football IQ was glarring watching it live. He also only runs one way.
He was a spectator most of the day and IMO is VFL quality only. We need talent developing in this side.. not plodders with no upside and that's 100% what Luke is unfortunately.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Persevering Saint]

I disagree with dropping McKenzie. He did very well in a few tight situations and his kicking was precise to allow us to open up play. Those last quarter possessions to Swallow looked bad but need to be better understood. Swallow is a very talented footballer, even on one leg. If he was in our team he'd also be our captain and an absolute star. DMac's overall performance shouldn't be misjudged on a couple of mistakes.

DMac was fine for three quarters, and was just a bit gassed in the last. His first game back, so not quite match fit. He'll be better for the run.

 

[Stewart66]

It's tricky because Marshall is very slight for a full time ruck. Pierce was pretty average though and there is the feeling anything would be better but there was always a risk that selling off Hickey would leave us short a ruck. We might have to play Marshall against sides with smaller rucks and Pierce against the big guys. Hopefully Longer gets back soon.

(Just saying )
Hickey got trounced against Brisbane .

Keep saying this Marshall has a fantastic build for ruckman , mobile would have exposed Witts with end to end
running on the fastest ground in the AFL. , Tim English ( Bulldogs ) is light for position but a smart operator
like Luke Beveridge knows every game now is worth 10 and little doubt will be one of the leagues best ruckman
going forward , because he has the support of a progressive thinking coach ..

 

[Max the great]

Any reason why posters are so obsessed with converting forwards into midfielders re Parker he could be a 30 - 40 goal season player & his speed height and aggression is needed in the forward line leave him there he probably has never even played midfield before.

Spot on. No need! Parker showed his ability and worth as a forward.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[St Pauls]

Going to be really interesting to see how we change things up from that game with Brown coming back in.

Some key stats:

Joyce- 18 disposals (@67%, 9 contested), team-high and equal game-high 12 intercepts, 1 intercept mark, 3 marks, 6 frees against

Battle- 18 disposals (@89%), 7 intercepts, 3 intercept marks, 6 marks

Wilkie- 11 disposals (@100%), 8 intercepts, 4 intercept marks

Any of those 3 would be pretty stiff to get dropped, so you could make a very decent case for moving Battle forward and leaving the other two back there with Brown.

Probably won't happen tho, so a tough call on one of the other two likely.

Also worth noting that D-Mac had our 2nd-most intercept possessions, with 10 (next best Wilkie and Geary with 8), that he went st 93% DE for his 14 disposals (was probably the best and most confident I've seen him kick it), that he had our equal-third most tackles, with 5 and was our 3rd highest ranked on the ground according to Champion Data (SC).

I think you are on the money with the Battle move. I think the club will be really reluctant to do it as Battle is playing quite well down there but structural we need another tall forward.

I think the two options to fix the structure are either swing Battle forward or bring in Marshal as a tall forward. I’m not sure what is the best option but I think we should do one.

The only other option would be to play Acres as a medium forward, which I think he is okay at.